Boychuck opines on celebrity hair
Michael Boychuck is a hairdresser to the stars in Las Vegas. So I asked him to give you insights into the hair of Britney Spears, LeAnn Rimes and Grammy celebs.
BEFORE BRITNEY'S BALD ERA
Boychuck was asked to style Britney's hair right before she famously shaved it all off in 2007.
But Boychuck - who runs Color salon at Caesars, and LifeSpa + Salon in Summerlin's Life Time Athletic - politely declined to fix her hair.
The problem: Britney had kept changing between bleached styles and darker dyes. Boychuck didn't want to further stress it.
"It takes all the elasticity out of (hair) when you bleach it out. It's like a rubber band. You can only stretch it so many times.
"I said, 'We'll do extensions if you need them, but your hair can't take anymore.'
"Sometimes it's smart to turn down something, rather than do it and get blamed."
Boychuck says going bald gave Britney's hair a chance to rejuvenate.
"She had such a beautiful face, so it wasn't a problem."
Other women also overstress their hair with bleach and dyes.
"They'll say, 'Well, how does Britney do it?' But she didn't do it. It fell out."
LEANN RIMES
"She has lighter hair, so basically she darkens it. So you use semi-permanent, or demi-permanent, color.
"Hers is easy to do. That's a compliment to her. She's blond, and she just adds depth to it."
BEST GRAMMY LOCKS
"Rihanna looked incredible as always.
"J. Lo with her bun - she can pull it off because she has such a beautiful face.
"Taylor Swift - loved her bangs."
THE CRAZIEST HAIR STORY?
Two decades ago, Anna Nicole Smith stripped in Boychuck's chair and said: "I hope you guys don't mind. I have to take this off. I'm burning up. I just went to a tanning bed, and my skin's burning."
She wanted moisturizing cream spread on her skin, so Boychuck complied, but he kept his hands on her shoulders.
"I was really nervous, because I came from a small town (Corning, N.Y.)," he says. "When I started seeing these celebrities, I was like, 'Oh my God, how do I act?' "
THE BIG TREND?
"You see a lot of dynamic reds," as well as "highlights on the bottom half of your hair."
CURLS FOR GIRLS
"Curly hair is so gorgeous. I don't know why (women) are opposed to it," he says.
Curly hair makes women stand out. Dyed curls also don't show roots as fast as straight hair does.
"You've gotta learn to accept what you have and not fight it all the time."
And curls are easier.
"With curly hair, you can just mess it a little bit, and it looks like you've done a lot. If your hair is straight, you've gotta polish it, or else it's gonna look messy."
THE SUMMERLIN CROWD
Boychuck opened LifeSpa + Salon in Summerlin last summer, but an official grand opening is coming Feb. 28 with marquee help from friends such as Shanna Moakler.
Since the Summerlin salon is associated with Life Time Athletic, he's considering opening salons in some of their other 105 locations.
WHY SO FEW STAR STYLISTS?
There aren't many celebrity stylists in Vegas. Three big names set up shop here only to leave - José Eber, Ken Paves and Laurent D. Why?
"A lot of (star stylists) just don't give Vegas enough attention. They'll open up a salon in Vegas, and not be here at all.
"Vegas women know how to critique. So if you just put your name on the door and put local stylists in there, it's not going to be a success."
Doug Elfman's column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He also writes for Neon on Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
